This invention relates to an automatic meat arranging device used together with an automatic meat cutting machine and adapted to automatically arrange meat slices sequentially cut by the automatic meat cutting machine onto a meat tray.
A meat such as a pork and beef is usually sold in a lump or chop. For example, a beef for use as "sukiyaki" is sold in slices as cut by an automatic meat cutting machine. When sold in slices, the meat is packed in a spread-flat manner on a meat tray of synthetic resin with one slice overlappingly placed on another. A variety of devices for packing meat slices on a meat tray with a synthetic resin film are known, but a device for automatically arranging meat slices sequentially cut by an automatic meat cutting machine onto a meat tray has not yet been developed to date. For this reason, meat slices sequentially cut by the automatic meat cutting machine need to be arranged by hand on the meat tray. The operation of arranging such meat slices onto the meat tray is very inefficient and unsanitary. A meat mass is cut by a circular blade of the machine into slices. Since a piece of meat now being cut by the circular blade of the machine needs to be held by the human hand, a skill is required in the meat slicing operation and, in addition, there is a danger that the hand will be injured by a near-by circular blade of the machine.
An object of this invention is to provide an automatic meat arranging device capable of automatically arranging meat slices sequentially cut by an automatic meat cutting machine onto a meat tray.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automatic meat arranging device which permits meat slices sequentially cut by an automatic meat cutting machine to be overlappingly spread flat with the edge of one meat slice attractively displaced with respect to the edge of another.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent upon reading the following explanation made in conjunction with the preferred embodiments of this invention.